OCEAN CITY — The Gardens section of the island gets a lot of attention — its winding, pedestrian-friendly streets and large, welcoming beaches are close enough to the boardwalk attractions that the scent of caramel popcorn, pizza and other treats wafts by on the gentle breeze.
Not so much, though, the hidden gem known as Gardens Lagoon or Whale’s Tale Lagoon, because of its distinctive shape. The area offers a sheltered anchorage on the bay side of the island just inside Great Egg Harbor Inlet, which makes it popular with boaters and water lovers of all kinds.
Perhaps overlooked, the best part of the area is that it’s one of the few parts of the island where a home can have water on more than one side. And the fantastic home at 17 Lagoon Road takes advantage of the fact with its fourth-floor rooftop deck, offering a panoramic view of the lagoon, inlet and bay.
The beach and boardwalk — 2.5 miles of oceanfront entertainment, restaurants, thrill rides and souvenir shops — get most of the attention in this seaside resort, but the island has much more to offer.
An award-winning downtown stretches from Sixth to 14th streets along Bay Avenue and has expanded onto other nearby streets, offering more than 100 shops and cafes.
There’s also the popular watersports district around Third Street on Bay Avenue, where the brave can rent powerboats, go parasailing, join the crew of a pirate ship and take a kayak tour of the back bays. Private and party boat fishing tours are also available.
The three-story stucco home is at the north end of Bay Avenue, just past the Ocean City Yacht Club in an enclave that juts out, creating one side of the “tale.”
Out front, a paver brick parking pad leads to the two-car attached garage with separate doors. Above are two private porches off bedrooms, one on each floor.
Mature shrubs in mulched beds line a path that leads around the right, past the sheltered entryway and finally to the incredible waterfront deck. Overlooking the lagoon and homes across the water, the deck features an in-ground pool and dock with a new bulkhead, two slips and a boat lift.
Back at the main entrance, a handsome door with a leaded glass window and side panels opens into a three-story-high foyer with a handsome oak staircase and 30-inch-high bead board wainscoting.
The ground floor includes much more than a beautiful entryway, as a hall leads left toward the garage, three-stop elevator, two full bathrooms and a bunk room featuring a cozy bed, horizontal plank walls and a built-in desk with a granite countertop.
The stairs lead up to a light and bright landing, where it becomes evident that natural oak and white will be the color scheme throughout.
To the right, the open-layout great room works well to provide multiple sightlines of the water.
Clearly competing with the lagoon for attention, the gourmet kitchen has a large granite-topped center island with three stools below and three pendant lights above. Narrow-plank hardwood flooring throughout the home maintains the aesthetic.
Solid-wood Signature Kitchen & Bath cabinets line two walls with granite countertops and a tile backsplash. A pantry is to the left of the stainless-steel LG two-door refrigerator, while a KitchenAid dishwasher is to the right of the two-basin sink. The four-burner Wolf gas range/oven has a tile backsplash and hood.
A glass-top table with six cushioned rattan chairs is set just inside a sliding glass door that opens onto the two-tiered, covered back porch with another space for dining. A railing with spindles separates the dining area from the recessed living room to the right.
Three steps down, the room has a large leather sectional sofa arranged around a gas-log fireplace with a flat-screen television above. The sunken nature of the room gives it a 10-foot-high ceiling, making it feel even larger. The effect is amplified by the shallow-arched transoms on each window and the sliding glass door that opens onto the lower part of the back porch.
Down a short hallway off the kitchen, a pocket door opens to reveal a wing with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, along with a laundry closet.
A full bathroom is just inside, convenient to the more common areas of the home, as is a laundry closet. Each of the bedrooms has a wood-impression tile floor with a glass tile inlay and access to the bay-side porch. The one on the right, though, has a private bath.
On the landing again, more stairs ascend to the third floor, where there are two more bedrooms and the expansive primary suite.
Atop the landing, an exterior door leads to the rooftop deck where, poised high above those unfortunate folks on the ground, you can enjoy a panoramic view like few on the island — facing the Atlantic Ocean beyond the lagoon, sweeping left through the inlet to Great Egg Harbor Bay and the mainland yonder.
The two bedrooms on this floor match the two directly below them, although each has a private bath. That leaves the entire area above the kitchen, dining area and living room for the luxurious primary suite.
Double swinging glass doors open onto a sitting room with a peaked cathedral ceiling and more of the natural oak hardwood floors. Two leather chairs face an entertainment center that, short of being on fire, must have a difficult task competing with the view outside the slider opening onto the uppermost back porch.
There’s a separate chamber with its own fancy ceiling and multiple windows through which the rising sun blazes its glory each morning into the sleepy-eyed faces of those in the king-side bed.
Almost not worth mentioning are the wet bar with glass-front cabinets and large walk-in closet with built-in organizers.
What is, though, is the bathroom with its long granite-topped vanity offering dual sinks, a fully tiled shower with a tall swinging glass door and the sunken Jacuzzi tub.
